Chapter 4
Akko had barely said a word since they've exited the facility, an abnormality that doesn't escape the notice of her teammates.
Naturally wary of anything that could induce silence on the teammate that never closed her mouth, Lotte sends at least three questioning glances to Sucy, and received three uncertain shrugs in response. She finally realizes that her other roommate will be of little help, and decides to take a gander at breaking Akko's silence a few minutes after they've risen into the leyline. Just a slight ways ahead of them is Holbrooke, humming contentedly to herself.
"Akko?"
Her friend looks like she's been jolted from her thoughts and scrambles to respond.
"No I'm- I, uh, yeah?"
Lotte frowns in concern as she looks to where Akko is currently seated behind Sucy on her broom.
"What's wrong? Did… did Professor Croix say something mean to you?"
Her friend's eyes widen and she starts waving her hands in protest, almost toppling off the broom as she did so. Sucy deigns to offer any kind of assistance.
"What!? Oh, no no no, it was nothing like that!"
"Then spill the beans, it must be a pretty big deal to make you think this hard."
Akko glared, only resisting the idea of giving Sucy a pinch given that it was currently her broom she was riding on.
"It's just that, well… Professor Croix…"
She frowned sullenly and kicked her legs a little as she recounted what their former teacher had said to her. By the end, Lotte looks rather surprised, and Sucy, well, looks the same as before, but it wasn't like Akko had expected anything else.
"So yeah," she concludes, her cheeks puffing as she slumped against the nearest surface, which happened to be the back of Sucy's shoulder. "The way she was talking about herself, it just didn't feel… right, you know?"
The girl in front of her grunted at the contact as she replied. "Well, wouldn't most people hate themselves after doing what she did? At least it means her moral compass exists."
"But still!" Akko protested, slightly peeved by the nonchalant response. "No one should talk like that, or think of themselves that way! That's so sad!"
Sucy shrugged, the motion shifting Akko's head slightly from where her cheek was still pressed.
"You can't really do anything about that though, right? What's the point of working yourself up over it?"
Akko sat up straight again and crossed her arms, which surprisingly did not cause her to lose her balance this time. "Hey! Who says I can't do anything about it? As a matter of fact, I completely intend to!"
Her roommate turned her head slightly to look at her, bemused.
"You're actually planning to come back again?"
"Yes, of course! I'm not just gonna leave her like that!"
Sucy just sighed in resignation at that. "Figured as much."
"But you know… That's really sad, what happened."
Akko peered curiously over to where Lotte was keeping pace next to them, the bespectacled young witch having spoken for the first time since Akko had recounted her conversation with the imprisoned inventor. There was a rather downcast expression on her pale, speckled face.
"You know, what happened between Professor Ursula and Professor Croix." Lotte responded to their inquisitive stares. "It sounds like they used to be really close… but now, just because of the Shiny Rod…"
Her expression was downcast, and Akko found her own to quickly match it.
"Yeah…" She mumbled, slumping back onto Sucy's shoulder. "I can't believe that thing caused so many problems…"
"Wasn't that kind of petty though?" Her roommate grumbled in front of her, prompting Akko prod her accusingly in the shoulder.
"Hey, maybe it was, but it was complicated! And we're past that already! Right now the point is that I have to get Professor Croix to realize she's not as bad as she thinks she is!"
Sucy mumbles something that sounds like lukewarm agreement, not having a particularly strong desire to convince her otherwise. The bickering between her roommates makes Lotte giggle lightly as she watches.
"Okay you two," she intervenes, as Akko starts shaking Sucy's shoulders in a futile attempt to coax more enthusiasm out of her. "We're here already."
Holbrooke has already landed by the time they exit the leylines, and she beckons them over with a hand gesture.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to eavesdrop" their elderly headmistress began as Lotte and Sucy alighted their brooms in the grass in front of her, "but I could not help overhearing some of your conversation. Miss Kagari, have you an interest in visiting Croix at another time?"
Akko's mouth dropped open as she hopped off the back of Sucy's broom, then she nodded her head eager with her hands clenched into fists.
"Yes!" She exclaimed, her eyes bright with determination. "There's no way I'm leaving it just like that! Headmistress you saw how she was!"
The warmth in Holbrooke's smile seemed to grow.
"And? What do you intend to do about that?"
Akko paused, then shrugged uncertainly, somehow not looking any less driven in spite of it.
"I don't know, I'll figure it out. But to do that I'll definitely have to see her again!"
Holbrooke hummed approvingly.
"I'm glad to hear it, Miss Kagari. Then, I'll see what I can do to obtain permission for your future visits."
There was a beat of silence as Akko and Lotte wore matching gapes. Sucy only hummed and took another peek into her bag. Holbrooke continued to smile serenely.
"Woah what serious?!" Akko shrieked, having already thought up at least seven different potential schemes of how she'd go about getting past the strict visitation restrictions. "You really mean it?"
"It's thoughtful of you to want to want to help her, Miss Kagari." Holbrooke responded, her eyes twinkling in amusement at Akko's boundless energy. "I unfortunately cannot stop by as much as I'd like, so I'm elated that you'd be willing to give her some company. As such, I'm more than happy to aid you in this endeavor."
At a rare loss for words, Akko could only bow deeply and sputter her gratitude, Holbrooke giving one final chuckle of amusement before she departed with a wave goodbye. The girl returned the gesture with far greater energy, albeit still looking somewhat dazed at how smoothly events had somehow turned out again.
"That's bizarre," Sucy muttered, as their headmistress faded into the distance. Lotte turned to her curiously.
"I-I suppose it was a bit surprising that Headmistress Holbrooke was so… okay with this, but it's nice that we didn't get punished for once."
"That's exactly it," was Sucy's deadpan response. "We went with Akko's impulse of the week and nothing went horribly wrong."
"You almost sound disappointed." Akko grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Not almost. I am. You're losing your touch."
"Anyways!" Lotte interjected, before her roommates had the chance to start squabbling again, "Akko, isn't that great? You'll be able to see Professor Croix whenever you want now!"
The girl blinked, snapping her mouth shut on the retort she'd been about to shoot back at Sucy, spreading it instead into a wide grin at the reminder of good news.
"Hah! Yeah, you're right!"
Puffing up her chest with confidence, she turned around to face the leyline entrance, glaring as determinedly as if she were staring the miserable inventor in the face right now.
"Just you wait Professor! That wasn't the last you'll see of me! On my Shiny Chariot deck, I swear it!"
"No way," Amanda whispered, her voice absent of its usual boredom and replaced by utter awe.
Akko grinned and nodded proudly, arms crossed.
"No," Amanda repeated, the word stretched tensely with disbelief. "Shit, I'm not convinced."
The brunette gasped in semi-mock offense. "You don't trust my word?"
"You're telling me you not only went to Aquila Aureae, but you also got inside and spoke to a convict? No shit I'm skeptical."
To this, Akko smugly reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a small visitor's pass, sliding it across the cafeteria table towards her doubtful friend. On either side of her, Jasminka and Constanze leaned over in curiosity, the latter having to stand to do so. Amanda picked it up gingerly and peered closely at the neatly printed gold text, turning it over in her hands as if she could somehow discern its authenticity in this way.
"Look at it all you want." Akko spoke loftily, seeming very much satisfied of herself. "All I gotta do is show this at the front desk and I can go in to see her."
Giving it one final look over, Amanda sucked in a breath and slid it back across the table.
"No way. You could have fabricated that."
"Well, if you really can't accept being wrong, you can come along next time and I'll show you."
She met Amanda's scrutiny with utter confidence. The other girl was scrunching up her mouth, clearly unsure if she should call a bluff.
"That's so cool Akko!" Jasminka broke in, instantly shattering her team leader's concentration and causing her to almost lose balance on the chair she was currently sitting backwards on. She returned the glare Amanda sent her with an ever-pleasant smile. "But, why did you want to see Professor Croix in the first place?"
"Ah… Well, you see…"
Akko lowered her voice and quickly gave a brief recount of the events of the past few days. By the end, one of Amanda's eyebrows had almost risen into her hairline.
"Really? And you're just okay with the whole, 'almost blew up another country' thing?"
"Well she feels bad about it! Mistakes happen!"
"You're amazing," Amanda muttered. "But I guess it we did get to do all of that cool stuff at least. And that missile was pretty sick."
To that, Constanze made a small noise of agreement and nodded vigorously.
"So, uh, yeah, I was wondering if you guys could help me out a bit? I still can't really fly well enough to go alone, and I don't want to just keep dragging Sucy and Lotte along everytime."
"So you're gonna drag us along instead," Amanda noted drily. Akko at least had the sense to give a sheepish shrug.
"Okay!" Jasminka chirped cheerfully, hesitating briefly on the crisp she was holding. "I don't mind. It's such a nice thing you're doing! Constanze, you help too!"
Her diminutive roommate looked hesitant for a few moments, before shrugging and giving a thumbs-up. Amanda looked back and forth between her teammates with some bewilderment before sighing and slumping forward.
"Eh, fine. Guess it might be cool to see what that place looks like at least."
Akko gasped, practically bouncing on the spot with glee.
"Oh my god guys, thank you soooo much! You're all the best!"
"Sorry, might I interrupt?"
And just as fast, all the good cheer drained from Akko's face, to be replaced with panic as she hastily grabbed her visitor's pass from the table and shoved it back inside her skirt before turning to face the source of the familiar dainty voice.
"Oh! Diana! F-Fancy seeing you!"
The young heiress raised an eyebrow at that, suspicion already slightly peaked.
"We are all on lunch break Akko, I hardly think it would be surprising for us to encounter one another under these circumstances."
Akko answered that with an embarrassed laugh, already cursing herself for her poor choice of words. If Diana noticed her inner turmoil, she did not comment on it.
"Amanda, I am here to deliver a message from Professor Nelson. She says that you failed to attend detention yesterday evening, and that you are to see her at once."
At this, the rebellious teen groaned and slammed her head into the desk. "Ah shit, knew there was something I forgot again…"
Diana's queenly mask of neutrality cracked temporarily in favour of mild exasperation, something that occurred with much greater frequency now since the rather exciting events of the previous term. She quickly recollected herself however, and turned to Akko.
"I am sorry, I did not eavesdrop, but might I inquire what you four were discussing earlier? I saw you try to hide something from my view. I assure you that so long as it isn't breaching school regulations, I would not judge you."
Amanda raised her head at that.
"Oh, yeah, you really need to hear this Cavendish. Akko was just telling us about how she-"
"How I win all my Shiny Chariot card games of course!"
Amanda looked at her incredulously, but Akko shot her a glare, a silent request to play along, as she smoothly drew forth her most treasured possession and placed it on the table.
"As I was saying, the metagame is very complex. There are hidden intricacies in the details of each card, and some plays are only applicable under unique circumstances. But if you can set the pace of the game early, you can create opportunities to use each card to its full potential."
She stared pleadingly at her three friends sitting opposite to her. Jasminka was already nodding along pleasantly, while Constanze had tuned out halfway through her explanation to fiddle with her Stanbot. Amanda looked somewhat confused, but mumbled a noise of hesitant affirmation.
Satisfied, Akko turned back to Diana with an innocent smile on her face. Her former rival, thank the Nine Olde Witches, seemed to have been successfully convinced by her ploy and gave a small smile as she looked at the card with some measure of fondness.
"Ah, I understand. You really did not have to hide that from me Akko, I thought we had already discussed this." She received a sheepish laugh and a shrug. "Well, I won't interrupt for any longer in that case, as I have other matters to attend to. Amanda, please do not forget your appointment with Professor Nelson. Good day."
And with that, Luna Nova's young prodigy strode off. Akko waited until she'd turned the corner before slumping against the table with a sigh of relief.
"That was way too close…"
"Uh, remind me, was this supposed to be a secret?" Amanda asked, still looking somewhat bemused.
"A secret at least from her, okay?" Akko responded, her heart rate still not having slowed from the close call. "Can you imagine how she'd react if I told her I'm going to go start visiting a criminal in prison on a regular basis?"
Amanda paused.
"Fair point."
"And while you're at it, please don't mention it to Professor Ursula too," Akko mumbled. "I get the feeling she wouldn't be too happy to find out about this either."
"Well, okay, I guess. You might as well just keep it a secret from everyone else too then, I don't think the rest of the school would ever shut up about it if they found out."
To that, Akko gave a groan of weary agreement.
Two days later, Akko scratched her head as she stood in the Herbology section of the library, frowning in concentration as she scanned the rows of titles. Every now and then she glanced at the list of texts in her hands that Sucy asked her to retrieve when classes were over for the day. Her roommate mentioned something about going to see Lukic afterschool with the mushrooms she'd cultivated on her trip to Aquila Aureae, seeming unusually pleased with herself.
Akko grumbled quietly in recollection of the memory, given just how long the list the was and how evasive some of the items on it had proven to be. She pulled the last book off its shelf and placed it on top of the stack containing the rest, then found herself balking at its formidable height. Resigned to her task, she lifted them off the table with a sound of effort before heading towards the check out, huffing audibly from the strain.
Her head was poked out to the side, given that the stack was too tall for her to reliably see over, when she passes by the shelf of Luna Nova student records. Eyes widening, she came to an abrupt stop, her cargo wobbling dangerously from the sudden halt.
After depositing Sucy's books onto the nearest desk, Akko returned to the shelf, struck by the realization that she had never actually looked up Chariot's profile in the records. Given that she now knew her idol personally and had her as her very own mentor, it felt a little strange to be doing so, but her curiosity ultimately triumphed over any potential misgivings. This was still about Shiny Chariot after all, how could she really resist?
Retrieving the appropriate volume, she couldn't help but feel the familiar surge of excitement as she turned to the correct page. The printed image of her idol beams up at her, eyes gleaming bright and mouth turned up in a dazzling smile. It's just how Akko always remembered her to look, from her cards and posters and the show in Japan, albeit in this photo still a few years younger. To the side of her picture is a small list of the honours she'd earned during her academic tenure, of which included her victory in the broom race relay and her title of Moonlit witch. Akko can't help but grin herself, giddy at the acknowledgement of her idol's achievements.
It does give her brief pause to remember though that she was also actually looking at her professor, something that, while she knew now to be factually true, still gave her an odd sense of disconnect. Other than the identical vibrant colour of their hair, there seemed so little in the way of similarity between Professor Ursula and the excited young girl staring up at her from the page. Indeed, it was almost impossible to imagine such an innocently carefree expression on her mentor as she was nowadays, absent of any doubt or nervous shyness.
Musing on that thought, Akko found her struck by a different line of curiosity. Closing the volume currently in her hands, she replaced it on the shelf and instead pulls out the one sitting to its left. Flipping through the pages, she scrolled through unfamiliar names and photographs until at last she found what she'd been looking for.
Her eyes widen as she stares down at a sixteen-year-old Croix Meridies.
This is…. Professor Croix?
The young girl on the page couldn't have looked any different from the woman she'd become ten years later, with her long scruffy hair and square glasses and unenthused frown of boredom. And while Akko had caught glimpses before of the photograph that her professor seemed to hold so dear, she'd never had such a close-up look before at the Luna Nova prodigy of a generation prior. Not to mention that, from the little she had seen of that picture, she'd at least been able to discern that Croix had been smiling in that one. In this, she certainly…. wasn't.
Inevitably, as Akko read through the significantly lengthier list of awards, she can't help but think of her former teacher as she is in the present, her spirits somewhat dampened as she does so. There could be no doubt that, as a prodigy, her potential had been boundless even as a teenager, but it was downright depressing now to stare at the frowning girl on the page, knowing just how she'd end up ten years in the future.
To Akko's credit, she remains disheartened for all of ten seconds before setting her mouth into a determined frown. It was clearer to her than ever before, what she needed to do.
"I gotta go talk to her again…" she mumbled, locking eyes with the decade-old image of the ex-professor. "She's not… she's not as terrible as she thinks she is. I know she's not."
"Akko?"
A freezing cold sensation of dread flushes through her body as she jumped in alarm, having recognized the familiar voice and its ever-present tone of mild concern. Just before she shrieks her response, a hand clamped over her mouth.
Chariot raises a finger to her lips, eyes wide with panic as she makes a quiet shushing noise.
"Not in the library Akko," she whispers with barely audible intensity, withdrawing her hand with a relieved sigh when her student gives a sheepish nod of embarrassment. "Now then, was there something bothering you-"
Her eyes trail down to the book Akko has opened, freezing at the familiar sight of lilac hair.
"Is that… W-Wait, why are you looking up Croix's school record?"
Akko gaped as would a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. There's no point in slamming the book shut now, and she floundered to cover up her intentions.
"I-I, oh, n-nothing! I was just, curious! About… stuff. Er… yeah."
To this Chariot frowned, and for a few terrifying seconds Akko expected her to see through the white lie with ease, but instead her teacher only murmured "Oh… Is this… because of what I told you that day?"
To that, Akko hesitated for a brief moment before nodding uncertainly with a stammered "Ah… y-yes, of course!". Thankfully, her mentor seemed to take her response at face value, sighing again as she crossed her arms.
"Right… I suppose I should have figured you'd only be more curious…"
Against all her better judgement, Chariot found her gaze trailing downwards to settle on the image of a ten years younger Croix. Leaning forward slightly for a better look, she has to resist the urge to chuckle lightly at the rather nostalgic sight of her friend's disgruntled expression, as she was so often privy to bearing in her youth.
"Ah, I remember this," she murmurs, a small smile on her lips. "Believe it or not, she did look like this all the time."
"Really?" Akko exclaimed. Chariot winced and motioned for a quieter volume, to which her student obliged with a hapless shrug of apology. "I mean, I know you said she was a grump but like, aaaaall the time?"
The girl's bewilderment does draw a quiet laugh out of Chariot now.
"Oh yes, like you wouldn't believe." She recounts, eyes growing fond at the memory. "She wasn't even upset that often, but because she looked like it, everyone was always afraid to talk to her. I think she might have been proud of that."
"That's ridiculous," Akko mutters, and Chariot can't help but agree with that. "She looks so grouchy."
"Well, she certainly was a grouch," the professor chuckles. "I don't think she looks different in any of the other pictures in the records. They should have a few more at the end of that volume, if I remember correctly."
Akko promptly flips to the back of the book, making a sound of disbelief as she scours through the pages.
"No kidding," she whispers, keeping the volume of her voice under control this time. "Did she ever smile? Ever?"
"Yes of course," Chariot giggles, covering her hand with her mouth so as to keep the noise down. "Usually only in private though. I believe she once mentioned something about 'keeping a reputation'".
Akko's eyes suddenly light up, as if she's remembered something, and she turns to her professor with an enormous grin.
"Oh yeah!" she exclaims quietly, "The picture you took with her! She was smiling in that one!"
Startled, Chariot instinctively leant away from the intensity of her student's sudden enthusiasm.
"O-Oh yes, well, you are, correct. About that."
"Oh, I get it!" Akko's grin somehow seemed to expand even further, an oft present twinkle of delight in her eyes now. "She must have smiled a lot when she was with you!"
"N-Not untrue, I s-suppose..." Chariot stuttered, suddenly finding it difficult to speak.
"That means, she must have been really happy when she was with you!" Akko continued, innocently oblivious of the how her professor had begun to nervously fidget. "I mean, that's like, literally the only picture where she's not grumpy, right?"
"I-I… oh… er… w-well, that's certainly a… possible…. thing… I don't know if… If it was only with me…"
"Do you have it on you right now Professor? I want to see!"
"Er…"
Chariot briefly considered trying to escape the situation in a way that wouldn't require her to… lie outright. Caught in the centre of Akko's eagerly expectant gaze, that desire quickly crumbled.
"Well I… don't see why not…"
With some embarrassment, she reached into the folds of her uniform and procured the picture in question, wondering if it looked strange for her to still be carrying it around with her all the time. Whether or not that was true, Akko seemed to pay it no heed as she darted closer for a better look, peeking her head over her professor's arm as she did so.
"Wow, she looks way happier." The young witch uttered, briefly looking between the record book and the photograph held carefully in her idol's hands for comparison.
"D-Does she now?" Chariot's hand shot up to her mouth, praying that Akko hadn't heard the crack in her voice.
"Yeah, she looks way better like this. Don't you think so too, Professor?"
Taking a moment to collect herself, Chariot took a deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves. This was ridiculous of her, she wasn't a teenager anymore. And Akko's inquiries were completely innocent. It wasn't as if she were implying anything after all. Not that, there was anything to imply. Because there certainly wasn't.
"A-Ah, well, of course," she answered as neutrally as possible.
"You two were best friends, right? Oooh, or were you also, maybe rivals too? Because you were both so cool! You must have gone on like, awesome magic adventures together yeah?!"
Chariot made to respond, but Akko steamrolled ahead without waiting for an answer, motor mouth triggered and running at full speed.
"Oh, but wait, didn't you used to have a hard time with magic? Did you get Professor Croix to help you?"
"A-Akko, w-wait-"
"She was like, a super genius or something right? Like Diana! She must have!"
"E-Er, w-well-"
"Oh, wait, Diana bails me out of accidents and stuff all the time too! Does that mean she also had to-"
"O-Oh would you look at the time!" Chariot barely resisted shrieking, the exclamation resembling more an extremely strained, high-pitched squeak as she hastily shoved the photograph back into her uniform. "I have… important duties to attend to now! I'm sorry, we will have to continue this later!"
Her face as red as her hair, the professor promptly fled the situation. Her long strides carried her to the nearest exit before Akko could so much as blink in shock at the promptitude with which her mentor had vanished.
As she recovered, she couldn't help but place her hands on her hips with a disgruntled pout. Her professor always seemed reluctant to share the details of her childhood, and from what Akko could discern, the only reason she did so was out of general embarrassment of her younger self. Which, to Akko, made no sense. It couldn't be anything that much worse compared to her own landslide of humiliating errors during her time at Luna Nova after all.
But, given that she couldn't force her professor to say anything she didn't want to (and having developed enough maturity to understand that, she shouldn't), the young witch was ready to reluctantly give up on that cause as she went to retrieve Sucy's towering stack of texts from where she'd set it down on the table.
And that, was when inspiration struck.
Still alive ya'll, sorry its taken me way longer than intended to update this. Idk how consistent I'll be with this because this term is a bit more intense than the last one, but I'll do my best (•̀ᴗ•́)و
A small note: Akko has only told Lotte and Sucy the full extent of what Croix did, not Green and Blue team (Diana, however, might have her suspicions). All they know is that she did the thing with the nuke that almost blew up a bunch of people.